Words I Know

Front 1

aberrant

Back 1

adj.
deviating from the norm

Front 2

anomaly

Back 2

n.
deviation from the normal order, form, or rule; abnormality

Front 3

arduous

Back 3

adj.
strenuous, taxing; requiring significant effort

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audacious

Back 4

adj.
daring and fearless; recklessly bold

Front 5

canonical

Back 5

adj.
following or in agreement with accepted, traditional standards

Front 6

censure

Back 6

v.
to criticize severely; to officially rebuke

Front 7

chicanery

Back 7

n.
trickery or subterfuge

Front 8

connoisseur

Back 8

n.
an informed and astute judge in matters of taste; expert

Front 9

convoluted

Back 9

adj.
complex or complicated

Front 10

discordant

Back 10

adj.
conflicting; dissonant or harsh in sound

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disparate

Back 11

adj.
fundamentally distinct or dissimilar

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effrontery

Back 12

n.
extreme boldness; presumptuousness

Front 13

eloquent

Back 13

adj.
well-spoken, expressive, articulate

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ennui

Back 14

n.
dissatisfaction and restlessness resulting form boredom or apathy

Front 15

extemporaneous

Back 15

adj.
improvised; done without preparation

Front 16

filibuster

Back 16

n.
intentional obstruction, esp. using prolonged speechmaking to delay legislative action

Front 17

laud

Back 17

v.
to praise highly

Front 18

lucid

Back 18

adj.
clear; easily understood

Front 19

magnanimity

Back 19

n.
the quality of being generously noble in mind and heart, esp. in forgiving

Front 20

mundane

Back 20

adj.
of the world; typical of or concerned with the ordinary

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nebulous

Back 21

adj.
vague; cloudy; lacking clearly defined form

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obtuse

Back 22

adj.
lacking sharpness of intellect; not clear of precise in thought or expression

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onerous

Back 23

adj.
troubling; burdensome

Front 24

parody

Back 24

n.
a humorous imitation intended for ridicule or comic effect, esp. in literature and art

Front 25

perennial

Back 25

adj.
recurrent throughout the year or many years; happening repeatedly

Front 26

perfunctory

Back 26

adj.
cursory; done without care or interest

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precipitate

Back 27

v.
to cause or happen before anticipated or required

Front 28

prescience

Back 28

n.
foreknowledge of events; knowing of events prior to their occurring

Front 29

qualms

Back 29

n.
misgivings; reservations; causes for hesitancy

Front 30

recant

Back 30

v.
to retract, esp. a previously held belief

Front 31

refute

Back 31

v.
to disprove; to successfully argue against

Front 32

relegate

Back 32

v.
to forcibly assign, esp. to a lower place or position

Front 33

reticent

Back 33

adj.
quiet, reserved; reluctant to express thoughts or feelings

Front 34

sporadic

Back 34

adj.
occurring only occasionally, or in scattered instances

Front 35

squander

Back 35

v.
to waste by spending or using irresponsibly

Front 36

static

Back 36

adj.
not moving, active, or in motion; at rest

Front 37

stupefy

Back 37

v.
to stun, baffle, or amaze

Front 38

stymie

Back 38

v.
to block; to thwart

Front 39

synthesis

Back 39

n.
the combination of parts to make a whole

Front 40

torque

Back 40

n.
a force that causes rotation

Front 41

tortuous

Back 41

adj.
winding, twisting; excessively complicated

Front 42

veracity

Back 42

n.
truthfulness, honesty

Front 43

voracious

Back 43

adj.
having an insatiable appetite for an activity or pursuit; ravenous

Front 44

waver

Back 44

v.
to move to and fro; to sway; to be unsettled in opinion

Front 45

abate

Back 45

v.
to lessen in intensity or degree

Front 46

accolade

Back 46

n.
an expression of praise

Front 47

adulation

Back 47

n.
excessive praise; intense adoration

Front 48

aesthetic

Back 48

adj.
dealing with, appreciative of, or responsive to art or the beautiful

Front 49

ameliorate

Back 49

v.
to make better or more tolerable

Front 50

ascetic

Back 50

n.
one who practices rigid self-denial, esp. as an act of religious devotion

Front 51

cacophony

Back 51

n.
harsh, jarring, discordant sounds; dissonance

Front 52

canon

Back 52

n.
an established set of principles or code of laws, often religious in nature

Front 53

catalyst

Back 53

n.
a substance that accelerates the rate of a chemical reaction without itself changing; a person or thing that causes change

Front 54

cogent

Back 54

adj.
appealing forcibly to the mind or reason; convincing

Front 55

complaisance

Back 55

n.
the willingness to comply with the wishes of others

Front 56

contentious

Back 56

adj.
argumentative; quarrelsome; causing controversy or disagreement

Front 57

culpable

Back 57

adj.
deserving blame

Front 58

dearth

Back 58

n.
smallness of quantity or number; scarcity; a lack

Front 59

didactic

Back 59

n.
intended to teach or instruct

Front 60

discretion

Back 60

n.
cautious reserve in speech; ability to make responsible decisions

Front 61

disinterested

Back 61

free of bias or self-interest; impartial

Front 62

dogmatic

Back 62

adj.
expressing a rigid opinion based on unproved or improvable principles

Front 63

eclectic

Back 63

adj.
composed of elements drawn from various sources

Front 64

elegy

Back 64

n.
a mournful poem, esp. one lamenting the dead

Front 65

empirical

Back 65

adj.
based on observation or experiment

Front 66

enigmatic

Back 66

adj.
mysterious; obscure; difficult to understand

Front 67

ephemeral

Back 67

adj.
brief; fleeting

Front 68

esoteric

Back 68

adj.
intended for or understood by a small, specific group

Front 69

eulogy

Back 69

n.
a speech honoring the dead

Front 70

exonerate

Back 70

v.
to remove blame

Front 71

fallacy

Back 71

n.
an invalid or incorrect notion; a mistaken belief

Front 72

gregarious

Back 72

adj.
sociable; outgoing; enjoying the company of other people

Front 73

heretical

Back 73

adj.
violating accepted dogma or convention

Front 74

hyperbole

Back 74

n.
an exaggerated statement, often used as a figure of speech

Front 75

inert

Back 75

adj.
unmoving; lethargic; sluggish

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opaque

Back 76

adj.
impenetrable by light; not reflecting light

Front 77

oscillation

Back 77

n.
the act or state of swinging back and forth with a steady, uninterrupted rhythm

Front 78

peruse

Back 78

v.
to examine with great care

Front 79

pious

Back 79

adj.
extremely reverent or devout; showing strong religious devotion

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precursor

Back 80

n.
one that precedes and indicates or announces another

Front 81

preen

Back 81

v.
to dress up; to primp; to groom oneself with elaborate care

Front 82

prodigious

Back 82

adj.
abundant in size, force, or extent; extraordinary

Front 83

prolific

Back 83

adj.
producing large volumes or amounts; productive

Front 84

sanction

Back 84

n./v.
authoritative permission or approval; a penalty intended to enforce compliance; to give permission or authority to

Front 85

satire

Back 85

n.
a literary work that ridicules or criticizes a human vice through humor or derision

Front 86

squalid

Back 86

adj.
sordid; wretched and dirty as from neglect

Front 87

stoic

Back 87

adj.
indifferent to or unaffected by pleasure or pain; stead-fast

Front 88

supplant

Back 88

v.
to take place of; to supersede

Front 89

vilify

Back 89

v.
to defame; to characterize harshly

Front 90

amalgamate

Back 90

v.
to combine several elements into a whole

Front 91

archaic

Back 91

adj.
outdated; associated with an earlier, perhaps more primitive, time

Front 92

bolster

Back 92

v.
to provide support or reinforcement

Front 93

bombastic

Back 93

adj.
pompous; grandiloquent

Front 94

diatribe

Back 94

n.
a harsh denunciation

Front 95

exacerbate

Back 95

v.
to make worse or more severe

Front 96

fervent

Back 96

adj.
greatly emotional or zealous

Front 97

fortuitous

Back 97

adj.
happening by accident or chance

Front 98

grandiloquence

Back 98

n.
pompous speech or expression

Front 99

hedonism

Back 99

n.
devotion to pleasurable pursuits, esp. to the pleasures of the senses

Front 100

hegemony

Back 100

n.
the consistent dominance of one state of ideology over others

Front 101

iconoclast

Back 101

one who attacks or undermines traditional conventions or institutions

Front 102

idolatrous

Back 102

adj.
given to intense or excessive devotion to something

Front 103

imperturbable

Back 103

adj.
marked by extreme calm, impassivity, and steadiness

Front 104

implacable

Back 104

adj.
not capable of being appeased or significantly changed

Front 105

luminous

Back 105

adj.
characterized by brightness and the emission of light

Front 106

malevolent

Back 106

adj.
having or showing often vicious ill will, spite, or hatred

Front 107

malleable

Back 107

adj.
capable of being shaped or formed; tractable; pliable

Front 108

meticulous

Back 108

adj.
characterized by extreme care and precision; attentive to detail

Front 109

mitigate

Back 109

v.
to make or become less severe or intense; to moderate

Front 110

pedagogy

Back 110

n.
the profession or principles of teaching, or instructing

Front 111

pedantic

Back 111

adj.
overly concerned with the trivial details of learning or education; show-offish about one's knowledge

Front 112

pervasive

Back 112

adj.
having the tendency to permeate or spread throughout

Front 113

pirate

Back 113

v.
to illegally use or reproduce

Front 114

placate

Back 114

v.
to appease; to calm by making concessions

Front 115

plummet

Back 115

v.
to plunge or drop straight down

Front 116

polemical

Back 116

adj
controversial; argumentative

Front 117

profuse

Back 117

adj.
given or coming forth abundantly; extravagant

Front 118

proliferate

Back 118

v.
to grow or increase swiftly and abundantly

Front 119

queries

Back 119

n.
questions; inquires; doubts in the mind; reservations

Front 120

rescind

Back 120

v.
to invalidate; to repeal; to retract

Front 121

reverent

Back 121

adj.
marked by, feeling, or expressing a feeling of profound awe and respect

Front 122

rhetoric

Back 122

n.
the art or study of effective use of language for communication and persuasion

Front 123

subpoena

Back 123

n.
a court order requiring appearance and/or testimony

Front 124

succinct

Back 124

adj.
brief; concise

Front 125

superfluous

Back 125

adj.
exceeding what is sufficient or necessary

Front 126

tenacity

Back 126

n.
the quality of adherence or persistence to something valued; persistent determination

Front 127

tenuous

Back 127

adj.
having little substance or strength; flimsy; weak

Front 128

tirade

Back 128

adj.
a long and extremely critical speech; a harsh denunciation

Front 129

transient

Back 129

adj.
fleeting; passing quickly; brief

Front 130

zealous

Back 130

adj.
fervent; ardent; impassioned, devoted to a cause

Front 131

alchemy

Back 131

n.
a medieval science aimed at the transmutation of metal, esp. base metals into gold

Front 132

anachronism

Back 132

n.
something or someone out of place in terms of historical or chronological context

Front 133

convention

Back 133

n.
a generally agreed-upon practice or attitude

Front 134

credulous

Back 134

adj.
tending to believe too readily; gullible

Front 135

cynicism

Back 135

n.
an attitude or quality of belief that all people are motivated by selfishness

Front 136

decorum

Back 136

n.
polite or appropriate conduct or behavior

Front 137

dilettante

Back 137

n.
one with an amateurish or superficial in the area or a branch of knowledge

Front 138

disparage

Back 138

v.
to slight or belittle

Front 139

divulge

Back 139

v.
to disclose something secret

Front 140

fawn

Back 140

v.
to flatter or praise excessively

Front 141

imminent

Back 141

adj.
about to happen; impending

Front 142

immutable

Back 142

adj.
not capable of change

Front 143

indifferent

Back 143

adj.
having no interest or concern; showing no bias or prejudice

Front 144

maverick

Back 144

n.
an independent individual who does not go along with a group or party

Front 145

neophyte

Back 145

n.
a recent convert; a beginner; a novice

Front 146

obstinate

Back 146

adj.
stubborn; hard-headed; uncompromising

Front 147

pervade

Back 147

v.
to permeate throughout

Front 148

plethora

Back 148

n.
an overabundance; a surplus

Front 149

pragmatic

Back 149

adj.
practical rather than idealistic

Front 150

presumptuous

Back 150

adj.
overstepping due bounds (as of propriety or courtesy); taking liberties

Front 151

propensity

Back 151

n.
a natural inclination or tendency; penchant

Front 152

pungent

Back 152

adj.
characterized by a strong, sharp smell or taste

Front 153

quixotic

Back 153

adj.
foolishly impractical; marked by lofty romantic ideals

Front 154

shard

Back 154

n.
a piece of broken pottery or glass

Front 155

sparse

Back 155

adj.
thin; not dense; arranged at widely spaced intervals

Front 156

spendthrift

Back 156

n.
one who spends money wastefully

Front 157

subtle

Back 157

adj.
not obvious; elusive; difficult to discern

Front 158

terse

Back 158

adj.
brief and concise in wording

Front 159

untenable

Back 159

adj.
indefensible; not viable; uninhabitable

Front 160

vacillate

Back 160

v.
to waver indecisively between one course of action or opinion and another

Front 161

vigilant

Back 161

adj.
alertly watchful

Front 162

volatile

Back 162

adj.
readily changing to a vapor; changeable; fickle; explosive

Front 163

appropriate

Back 163

v.
to take for own's own use; to confiscate

Front 164

arrest, arresting

Back 164

v/adj.
to suspend; to engage; holding one's attention: as in arrested adolescence, an arresting portrait

Front 165

damp

Back 165

v.
to diminish the intensity or check the vibration of a sound

Front 166

exact

Back 166

v.
to demand; to call for; to require; to take

Front 167

ford

Back 167

v.
to wade across the shallow part of a river or stream

Front 168

intimate

Back 168

v.
to imply, suggest, or insinuate

Front 169

list

Back 169

v.
to tilt or lean to one side

Front 170

occult

Back 170

adj.
hidden, concealed, beyond comprehension

Front 171

pedestrian

Back 171

adj.
commonplace, trite, unremarkable, quotidian

Front 172

pluck

Back 172

n.
courage, spunk, fortitude

Front 173

sap

Back 173

v.
to enervate or weaken the vitality of

Front 174

sap

Back 174

n.
a fool or nitwit

Front 175

stand

Back 175

n.
a group of trees

Front 176

steep

Back 176

v.
to saturate or completely soak, as in to let a tea bag steep

Front 177

qualify

Back 177

v.
to limit

Front 178

sap

Back 178

v.
to enervate or weaken the vitality of

Front 179

sap

Back 179

n.
a fool or nitwit

Front 180

scurvy

Back 180

adj.
contemptible, despicable

Front 181

singular

Back 181

adj.
exceptional, unusual, odd

Front 182

stand

Back 182

n.
a group of trees

Front 183

steep

Back 183

v.
to saturate or completely soak, as in to let a tea bag steep

Front 184

strut

Back 184

n.
the supporting structural cross-part of a wing

Front 185

table

Back 185

v.
to remove (as a parliamentary motion) from consideration

Front 186

tender

Back 186

v.
to proffer or offer

Front 187

anathema

Back 187

n.
a solemn or ecclesiastical (religious) curse; accursed or thoroughly loathed person or thing

Front 188

apostate

Back 188

n.
one who abandons long-held religious or political convictions

Front 189

debacle

Back 189

n.
rout, fiasco, complete failure

Front 190

denouement

Back 190

n.
an outcome or solution; the unraveling of a plot

Front 191

dirge

Back 191

n.
a song of grief or lamentation

Front 192

exegesis

Back 192

n.
critical examination, explication